Project-focused placements: Enhancing students understanding of citizens' perspectives

The Gawler Health Service, Community Services in conjunction with the University of South Australia, School of Nursing and Midwifery, provided undergraduate students of nursing with a comprehensive project-focused placement. The placement enabled undergraduate students of nursing to understand how the citizens of a given rural community perceived community needs and health service delivery. When participating in such a placement, students developed an understanding of a fundamental aspect of the community nurse's role. This understanding is essential for registered nurses if they are to meet international health care agendas that require the health care sector to work in partnership with the community. While on placement, nursing students worked in pairs or small groups on a negotiated project that furthered their understanding of community assessment as it related to a particular group of people within the community. This involved a range of activities, including searching the literature, designing a tool to clarify the community's perspectives on an issue, summarizing the project for the organization and preparing a statement for the local press. Using a project as a significant component of the placement provided depth to a short placement while providing benefits to the placement organisation.